Minimally invasive surgeries are well known and often involve an endoscopic or arthroscopic procedure where incisions are minimized and the surgery is performed within the body using one or more portals for insertion of instruments together with a camera or scope for viewing and conducting the procedure. Having contacted human fluids during use, the devices used for performing these procedures require that they either be sterilized or disposed of.
The choice between sterilization and disposal can often be balanced between the cost of the tool or device and the difficulty in sterilizing the device. Where the cost to replace it is low and/or the difficulty in sterilizing is high, the device will likely be discarded and replaced. In some instances, this may include discarding portions of the device that did not actually contact the patient. That is, where a portion of a device was inserted and another portion was not, the entire device likely is still discarded.
Minimally invasive surgeries often require multiple tools, wherein each tool is configured to perform a different function. Multiple tools increase sterilization and replacement costs.
There is a need for a minimally invasive medical tool configured to reduce sterilization and replacement costs. There is also a need in the art for methods of manufacturing and using such a medical tool.